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Maud Hart Lovelace as "Betsy Ray" Written by and used with the permission of Barb Mader Maud Hart Lovelace grew up as Maud Palmer Hart in the early part of the twentieth century in Mankato, Minnesota. She often said that she "lived the happiest childhood a child could possibly know," and she wrote lovingly of that time in her Betsy-Tacy books for children. The ten Betsy-Tacy stories, as well as three other books set in "Deep Valley," are based largely on fact. Most of the people and places mentioned in the books were real people and real places, and most of the events described really did happen in more or less that way. Deep Valley is of course Mankato, and Maud described the town and its landmarks in her books. She did change the names of some buildings and streets, which has caused a few problems for visitors making a pilgrimage to "Deep Valley." But she really did live in a little yellow house at the end of a street which stopped at the bottom of a big hill. There really was a bench where she and "Tacy" shared their dinners. There was a Carnegie Library, and a Lincoln Park, which was, and is, triangular in shape. And the characters: these were Maud's family, friends, teachers, acquaintances. "Betsy" is, of course, Maud herself, and as in the books, she had two sisters. "Julia" was Kathleen Hart, and she did sing grand opera as an adult. "Margaret" was Maud's younger sister, Helen, who became a librarian. Again, as in the books, Maud had two best friends. "Tacy" was really Frances "Bick" Kenney, and she really did live right across the street, really had long red curls, and really gave Maud a little glass pitcher on Maud's fifth birthday. (This pitcher is on display in the public library in Mankato today.) "Tib" was Marjorie "Midge" Gerlach, who was indeed small, blonde, and athletic. The three remained lifelong friends. "The Crowd' as described in the high school books was real, too—with one notable exception. Cab, Bonnie, Irma, Carney, Winona, Larry and Herbert Humphreys, and Tacy's sister Katie were all based on people Maud knew in Mankato. When creating "Joe Willard" however, Maud strayed a bit further from fact. In the books, Joe makes his first appearance in Heaven to Betsy, as an orphan working his way through high school. And though Joe was very like Maud's husband Delos Lovelace, Maud did not meet Delos until she was in her mid-twenties. Alas, the friendly competition between Betsy and Joe in the annual essay contest is "mere fiction," as many of Maud's fans have learned to their sorrow. "Mr. and Mrs. Ray" were much like Maud's parents, Thomas and Stella Hart. There were Sunday night lunches, and Mr. Hart did make onion sandwiches—remembered decades afterward by the boys who once ate them. As for "Betsy"—Maud did write in a letter to a fan that "as the series progressed, I glamorized Betsy as much as I pleased, giving her all sorts of charms that I certainly did not possess." Well, perhaps. But perhaps not. For of course Maud was Betsy, writing in her special maple tree, climbing The Big Hill, reading in the Carnegie library, singing around the piano, going to dances, and always, making up stories and writing them down. I have been a few times now to Mankato, and I have seen Lincoln Park, Betsy's and Tacy's houses, The Big Hill, the Carnegie Library, and more. I have trouble, while I am there, envisioning "Betsy" in her turn-of-the-century "Deep Valley." But once away, reading the books, I do see Betsy with her family, with her friends, and in the town she loved so much, and I believe I see all this almost as she truly saw it, and as she truly lived it. I am all but there with her, and oh, how I wish I were. And this is, I believe, Maud's special gift – her gift as a writer and her gift to us. To see more of "Deep Valley" as it is today, click here. My mother led me to the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace when I was about ten years old. I lost my heart to them, and they remain my all-time favorites. I am not alone. In the last ten years, thanks in a large part to a major effort by Sharla Scannell Whalen, author of The Betsy-Tacy Companion, the fans of the books have organized, held three conventions, and started their own listserv. Fans include Anna Quindlen—who has said she re-reads three authors, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Maud Hart Lovelace—as well as Nora and Phoebe Ephron, who had Meg Ryan sell Tom Hanks the Betsy-Tacy books in "You've Got Mail," Bette Midler, Susan Allen Toth, Judy Blume, Johanna Hurwitz, and Meg Cabot. HarperCollins reissued all of the books in the last five years, so I feel perfectly justified in including them in the best books of the decade. In my humble opinion, they are the among the best books ever written! |
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The Betsy-Tacy Books |
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Betsy-Tacy Follows the adventures of a pair of five-year-old girls, Betsy and Tacy, who love each other so much that their names are linked together as a single identity, and traces their friendship in a little Minnesota town of the early 1900s. |
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Betsy-Tacy and Tib Betsy and Tacy are best friends. Then Tib moves into the neighborhood and the three of them start to play together. The grown-ups think they will quarrel, but they don't. Sometimes they quarrel with Betsy's and Tacy's bossy big sisters, but they never quarrel among themselves. They are not as good as they might be. They cook up awful messes in the kitchen, throw mud on each other and pretend to be beggars, and cut off each other's hair. But Betsy, Tacy, and Tib always manage to have a good time. |
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Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill Betsy, Tacy, and Tib can't wait to be ten. After all, getting two numbers in your age is the beginning of growing up—exciting things are bound to happen. And they do! The girls fall in love with the King of Spain, perform in the School Entertainment, and for the first time, go all the way over the Big Hill to Little Syria by themselves. There Betsy, Tacy, and Tib make new friends and learn a thing or two. They learn that new Americans are sometimes the best Americans. And they learn that they themselves wouldn't want to be anything else. |
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Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are twelve—old enough to do lots of things...even go downtown on their own. There they see their first horseless carriage, discover the joys of the public library, and see a real play at the Opera House. They even find themselves acting in one! Best of all, they help a lonely new friend feel at home in Deep Valley—the most wonderful place in the world to grow up. |
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Heaven to Betsy It's Betsy Ray's freshman year at Deep Valley High School, and she and her best childhood chum, Tacy Kelly, are loving every minute. Betsy and Tacy find themselves in the midst of a new crowd of friends, with studies aplenty (including Latin and—ugh—algebra), parties and picnics galore, Sunday night lunches at home—and boys! There's Cab Edwards, the jolly boy next door; handsome Herbert Humphreys; and the mysteriously unfriendly, but maddeningly attractive, Joe Willard. Betsy likes them all, but no boy in particular catches her fancy until she meets the new boy in town, Tony Markham . . . the one she and Tacy call the Tall Dark Handsome Stranger. He's sophisticated, funny, and dashing—and treats Betsy just like a sister. Can Betsy turn him into a beau? |
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Betsy In Spite of Herself Betsy Ray is now a sophomore, and she and her Crowd are in the thick of things at Deep Valley High. Between parties, exams, and her duties as class secretary, Betsy's got her hands full. But she's not too busy to notice the new boy in town—the oh-so-cosmopolitan Phil Brandish. If only she could make him notice her! Then Betsy's old friend Tib Muller invites her to spend Christmas in Milwaukee. It's there that plain old Betsy begins her, transformation into the dramatic and mysterious Betsye. With her new identity, she's sure she'll be able to charm Phil. The question is, can Betsy help being Betsy—in spite of herself? |
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Betsy Was a Junior The best school year ever—that's the kind of junior year Betsy Ray has planned for herself. And when her childhood friend Tib Muller moves back to Deep Valley, Betsy's sure her perfect year is off to a grand start. With charming, funny Tib around, Crowd doings are more fun than ever—especially after Betsy starts Okto Delta, the first—ever sorority at Deep Valley High. But soon Betsy's luck takes a bad turn. The Crowd is getting into trouble at school, and Betsy isn't given a chance to compete in the annual Essay Contest. Could Betsy's best school year turn out to be her worst? |
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Betsy and Joe Made for each other? Betsy Ray has always thought that she and the fascinating Joe Willard would make the perfect couple. Now, in her senior year at Deep Valley High School, it looks as though she'll get her wish. As soon as Joe returns from his summer job in North Dakota, he's on the Rays' porch with sweet words for Betsy. It's going to be a wonderful senior year! Then Tony Markham, Betsy's longtime chum, comes calling —and his intentions are definitely romantic. Betsy is torn. She really cares for Joe, but she doesn't want to hurt Tony. Can she figure out a way to follow her heart without ruining her friendship? |
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Betsy and the Great World It's the trip of a lifetime. Betsy Ray, 21 years old, is heading off for a solo tour of Europe. From the moment she casts off, her journey is filled with adventure—whether she's waltzing at the captain's ball, bartering for beads in Madeira, or sipping coffee at a bohemian cafe in Munich. It's rich fodder for a budding young writer, and Betsy's determined to make the most of the experience. If only she could stop thinking about her ex-sweetheart, Joe Willard... Then a handsome, romantic Italian goes overboard for Betsy, and she has a big decision to make. Marco Regali is passionate, fascinating, and cultured. Could it be that Betsy's heart belongs in Europe instead of Minnesota? Betsy's childhood dream is finally coming true—she's off to Europe just like she and Tacy planned so long ago. Despite her travels and many adventures, Betsy's heart won't let her forget Joe Willard, her high school sweetheart. |
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Betsy's Wedding Here Comes the Bride! When Betsy Ray arrives in New York after a tour of Europe, her old flame Joe Willard is waiting at the dock. Before he even says hello, he asks Betsy to marry him. They've been separated for a year, and they're determined never to be apart again. But as Betsy discovers, marriage isn't all candlelight, kisses, and roses. There's cooking, ironing, and budgeting as well—not to mention forging her career as a writer! For Betsy, the writing part comes naturally, but cooking is another matter. It's even harder than algebra—and much messier. Luckily Betsy Ray—make that Betsy Willard—has always thrived on challenge. Her name may have changed, but her life remains as full of love and laughter as it's been since she was a little girl living on Hill Street in the first of the classic Betsy-Tacy books.Betsy returns from Europe to marry Joe Willard—and soon learns that beloved friend Tacy is expecting a baby! It's wartime in America, but Betsy, Joe, and their wonderful circle of friends brave their hardships together. |
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Deep Valley Books |
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Winona's Pony Cart Winona Root is almost eight years old. More than anything in the world, she wants a pony for her birthday. She wishes so hard for a pony that she's sure to get one—at least, that's what she tells her friends Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. It's only when the exciting day grows near that Winona begins to wonder: What if her father meant it when he said she couldn't have a pony? |
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Carney's House Party It is the summer of 1911 and Carney Sibley is back home in her beloved town of Deep Valley, Minnesota. She's looking forward to hosting a month-long house party, with guests including her Vassar college roommate Isobel Porteous and old chum Betsy Ray. With lots of the old Crowd and a new friend—wealthy, unkept, but loveable Sam Hutchinson—around, the days are filled with fun. And romance seems to be in the air. But Carney can never be romantic about anyone but Larry Humphreys, her high school sweetheart, who moved to California four years ago. Then Larry returns to Deep Valley and sets the town abuzz. Will Larry propose? And will Carney say yes? |
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Emily of Deep Valley Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. The gulf between Emily and her classmates widens even more when they graduate from Deep Valley High School in 1912. Emily longs to go off to college with everyone else, but she can't leave her grandfather. Emily resigns herself to facing a "lost winter," but soon decides to stop feeling sorry for herself. And with a new program of study, a growing interest in the Syrian community, and handsome new teacher at the high school to fill her days, Emily gains more than she ever dreamed... |
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Other Children's Books |
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Golden Wedge: Indian legends of South America |
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Tune Is in the Tree |
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Trees Kneel at Christmas After Grandmother explains why the trees in Lebanon kneel at Christmas, Afify and Hanna hope to witness a similar miracle in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. |
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What Cabrillo Found: |
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Valentine Box |
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Books for Older Readers |
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Early Candlelight
This historical novel set at Old Fort Snelling in the 1830s is a rich and romantic re-creation of the early settlement period in Minnesota's history. Maud Hart Lovelace's careful research into the documents of the Minnesota Historical Society, combined with her knowledge of the actual setting, enabled her to write a story that conveys a sense of time and place both accurate and compelling for young adults as well as general readers. |
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Gentlemen from England Maud Hart Lovelace-internationally famed author of the Betsy-Tacy children's books-joined literary forces with her husband, Delos, to produce this novel, first published in 1937. It is the fictionalized story of a real 19th-century English colony near Fairmont, Minnesota, located not far from Maud Lovelace's Hometown of Mankato. |
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